1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Co-base heat resistant alloy. More particularly, it relates to a Co-base heat resistant alloy which has excellent high temperature oxidation resistance and high temperature strength and particularly excellent corrosion resistance against molten glass (hereinafter referred to simply as "molten glass resistance"), and which is thus particularly useful as a corrosion resistant material for an apparatus or an equipment for treating molten glass, such as a spinner for forming glass fibers. For the convenience of description of the present invention, a reference is made to a spinner for forming glass fibers, although the present invention is not limited to such a particular use and is generally applicable for the treatment of molten glass.
2. Description of Prior Art
Glass fibers are usually formed by feeding into a spinner molten glass heated to a temperature of about 1000.degree. C. and rotating the spinner at a high speed of about 1700 rpm whereby the molten glass is centrifugally jetted from a plurality of perforations radially provided along the side wall of the spinner. Accordingly, the spinner is required to have high temperature oxidation resistance, high temperature strength, and inter alia high temperature creep rupture strength and molten glass resistance.
Co-base heat resistant alloys have been proposed as alloys useful for the production of spinners for forming glass fibers, e.g. in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,881,918, 3,933,484, 3,980,473 and 3,984,240. However, such a conventional Co-base heat resistant alloy does not have adequate molten glass resistance, and the useful life of the spinner made thereof used to be relatively short as the perforations in the side wall of the spinner became to have a diameter exceeding the allowable limit in a relatively short period of time.